25 day HAL cruise with kids

[pryce_tag]

45 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

5 star before age 21.

Presidents Club before 40…..

This will be our eldest.  He has been on a lot of cruises as he grandparents took him each year as well 😮 

[cruisequeen4ever]

I have seen how crew absolutely adore the little kids when they work on cruise ships that don’t normally have as many children because it gives them a chance to connect with kids that remind them of their own kids or grandkids from back home that they don’t get to see much. If the kids club is open, your child will probably be spoiled as he or she will probably be one of the only kids on board. I absolutely loved my Holland America kids club experience when I was eight years old, and that is what got me started on my addiction to cruising. I’m glad that you figured out even if there isn’t a kids club that you will still have a lot of fun. 

[LocoLoco1]

I would NEVER torture my grand-kid by putting him/her on a HAL ship. HAL is where old folks send their parents (and I am 75). Kids like roller-coasters, go-carts, water slides etc. I know I did 70/yrs ago. 

[pryce_tag]

32 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

I would NEVER torture my grand-kid by putting him/her on a HAL ship. HAL is where old folks send their parents (and I am 75). Kids like roller-coasters, go-carts, water slides etc. I know I did 70/yrs ago. 

We can make our own fun.  He loves to be with us.  He would live in the pool if he could.  We will take cards and a few small travel games, and things for him to do.  I have decided to take 25 small gifts that he can have one each day.  There is of course TV and the ipad but we hope not to take advantage of those too much.  I think it will be a good experience for us all to switch off the devices and keep ourselves entertained.  I mean heck, we are on a cruise!!!!

[whogo]

38 minutes ago, LocoLoco1 said:

I would NEVER torture my grand-kid by putting him/her on a HAL ship. HAL is where old folks send their parents (and I am 75). Kids like roller-coasters, go-carts, water slides etc. I know I did 70/yrs ago. 

How many water slides, go-carts and roller-coasters had you ridden by age five? I was a teen before I rode a roller-coaster or go-cart, a parent before I went down a water slide. I wasn't one of those rich kids with a Slip 'N Slide.  As a five year old, I was happy with a stick or a cardboard box.

 

 

[jljcruise]

1 hour ago, pryce_tag said:

We can make our own fun.  He loves to be with us.  He would live in the pool if he could.  We will take cards and a few small travel games, and things for him to do.  I have decided to take 25 small gifts that he can have one each day.  There is of course TV and the ipad but we hope not to take advantage of those too much.  I think it will be a good experience for us all to switch off the devices and keep ourselves entertained.  I mean heck, we are on a cruise!!!!

I love how you're taking this cruise and running with it! Your son's attitude and enjoyment will be a reflection of your own attitude and enjoyment. At 5, he will undoubtedly find the BEST part of the trip is being the  total focus of mom and dad every day. And kudos for switching off devices ... too many parents "play" with their kids with 98% of their attention on the devices, not the child. Have a great vacation! (And ignore the curmudgeons.)

[pryce_tag]

1 hour ago, whogo said:

How many water slides, go-carts and roller-coasters had you ridden by age five? I was a teen before I rode a roller-coaster or go-cart, a parent before I went down a water slide. I wasn't one of those rich kids with a Slip 'N Slide.  As a five year old, I was happy with a stick or a cardboard box.

 

 

Yep this is my kid.  He can make fun with anything.  He has never had those things on any of the cruises we have been on so far.  And when I think about it, the last cruise we went on he had a cold so we didn't send him to kids club and all was well 🙂

[pryce_tag]

Just now, jljcruise said:

I love how you're taking this cruise and running with it! Your son's attitude and enjoyment will be a reflection of your own attitude and enjoyment. At 5, he will undoubtedly find the BEST part of the trip is being the  total focus of mom and dad every day. And kudos for switching off devices ... too many parents "play" with their kids with 98% of their attention on the devices, not the child. Have a great vacation! (And ignore the curmudgeons.)

We never have devices on a cruise with our kids.  So many times we have been on cruises and at dinner when we all come together we have so much fun and laughter.  One cruise we went on the table next to us (2A and 2K probably in their teens) spent their whole meal with their faces in a tablet and didn't talk hardly at all.  It was so sad and we were all having a blast.  

 

I am so glad that I posted on this forum about this as it has made me realise that we don't need a kids club, it was really just something to fall back on.  We are really going to have such fun spending time with our little fellow. 

[kazu]

2 hours ago, LocoLoco1 said:

I would NEVER torture my grand-kid by putting him/her on a HAL ship. HAL is where old folks send their parents (and I am 75). Kids like roller-coasters, go-carts, water slides etc. I know I did 70/yrs ago. 

 

Wow - all I can say is when I met my life long friends they brought their 5 year old daughter.  she was as happy as a clam and addicted to cruising.  she never went near a kid’s club nor children’s activities.  She had fun with us, the pool and the activities her parents brought. She’s an adult now and probably has at least her silver medallion if not her gold.

Your idea of torture might be another child’s idea of fun - a lot depends on how they were raised 😉 

[Banditswife]

19 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

5 star before age 21.

Presidents Club before 40…..

We were at a Carnival platinum/diamond party where an 8-9 year old was honored as the youngest platinum guest.  We ended up sitting with her & her grandparents in the buffet area.  She was very well behaved & loved the attention she received. 

[bcummin]

I love your plan for 25 small gifts for the 25 days.

It reminds me of the time our older son went to his first Boy Scout camp week.  I carefully hid a treat inside each clean underwear for him to find during the week.  His bag came back untouched, because he had lived in the same clothes night and day.

Barbara